Alpha and Omega
by ThetaWolfe
Summary: The War is finally over, but it took everyone away from them. Left with nothing, Harry and Draco fly to the stars to escape prosecution of their werewolf blood, and end up getting smacked in the face with Murphy's Law as the end up on a desert planet.
1. Prologue

***Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and ideas….and the plot bunnies in the corner. Please don't sue, I'm a poor college student that has no life and way too many video games.***

"_I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown."_

**Prologue**

Water poured from the night skies and soaked the earth below it, washing away the blood, pain, and darkness that had settled upon her. A grand castle, once a school for the magical, now was in complete ruins, its stone walls lay scattered upon the ground as if it had exploded from the inside out. Bodies numbering in the hundreds lay upon the once battlefield, faces set in grim determination and agony even after death. Not all of them were human either. Many horse like men, wolves to large to be natural, giant people, and the occasional dragon were amongst the dead.

In this valley of the dead, only two people breathed the air of life…bloodied, injured, and emotionally unstable, but alive. Both were male, probably eighteen or nineteen years of age. The tallest had platinum blonde nearly white hair, stormy grey eyes speckled with blue and silver, and almost unhealthy pale skin. He was lean and muscular. White, silver, grey, and light blue feathers adorned his spikey short hair, his pointed ears were pierced, twice on each lobe, once on the upper left just before the point, and three times on the right. Small golden hoops decorated the upper piercings, but a small stud and a dangling bird skull were on each side of the others.

An intricate necklace lay on his bare chest. It was Celtic in design and clearly old. A green and silver serpent was wrapped around a gold and red griffin, almost in a loving embrace. They lay within the open jaws of a black and white wolf head, appearing to both be in a protective and destructive manner at the same time.

He stood next to a slightly smaller man with raven black hair and emerald green eyes. Feathers also adorned his hair, but their colors ranged from blue, black, purple, green, and gold. His pointed ears were pierced exactly the same as his companion, the only difference was the type of bird skull that hung from his earrings. An identical necklace lay upon his equally bare and scarred chest. His skin was darker, taking on a healthier tan. His body was just as lean, but held more muscle then the other.

The blonde turned to the other, his silver-grey eyes cataloging injuries, damage, posture, and mood in seconds. The other male was tired, a few scratches littered his torso, the worst was a gash along his arm that was still bleeding sluggishly, not quite clotting but he was in no danger of bleeding out. He took the arm slowly so as not to startle the other, and cast a healing charm on the wound.

Green eyes snapped to his as the magic settled under his skin, leaving behind a tingling feeling. He looked so lost…they both did. "What now," the blonde asked, deferring to his Alpha, willingly accepting his decision no matter what it would be.

The darker one turned away again and, his eyes clouding over in thought. They couldn't stay here, it wasn't safe. The War may be over now, but another would soon take its place. Voldemort may be dead, and his followers all but wiped from existence, but it came with a price…a high one. They had lost _so _many of the light. All of Hogwarts' students that hadn't gone home were now dead, along with all of the teachers that had stayed loyal.

If he looked hard enough he could see several bodies sporting outlandishly red hair. An image of a smiling cheerful face danced across the thoughts of the darker haired of the two before it was twisted into agony as silent screams of anguish were ripped out of a pearl white throat. Her name was…had been Hermione, his best friend and confidant. Ron, her boyfriend followed her just hours after…he never even knew she had died seeing as he was half way across the scarred battlefield.

Many more once smiling faces were amongst the deceased and the shorter male could feel his throat closing up in grief. _They _had lost so much…they had lost _everything_. Was it worth it? Yes, it was. By defeating Voldemort they ensured that others could live without fear, they saved _so_ many lives. His parents would have been proud. But was the price too high? Yes…it was.

There was nothing left for them here now, and to stay would be their death. Two months before the final battle, while both Draco and Harry had been out on a reconnaissance mission, they had been attacked by a dying Werewolf. It was supposed to be a pretty straight forward no nonsense assignment, and it was…up until the very end. It had been dark, just passed the witching hour, and they were marching through an abandoned muggle town in Ireland three hours North of nowhere and just East of completely lost. He had been tired, exhausted, they both were…that was probably why they never saw the Werewolf until it was upon them. They had survived…just barely.

Both had been cursed with lycanthrope, and even though their friends had tried all they could, it was too late. And they knew what would happen to them now. The Ministry had made it clear even before the Final Battle what they thought about dark creatures, and since most of the dark creatures teamed themselves up with the Dark Lord pretty soon they would declare the death of all of them.

A light pressure drew the dark haired one out of his thoughts. His friend, brother, companion, had his hand upon his shoulder in support. "We leave, Draconis. We must leave," voice still heavy with grief, the words hung thick in the air with a sense of defeat.

Draco looked to his Alpha and hung his head in silent resignation. He knew what they had to do, but it was still hard on him to leave the only life he knew behind. They didn't have a choice though. They would be hunted down like the monsters they were if they were to stay. "Where would we go, brother?"

His brother looked up to the sky that was slowly clearing above them. "We go to the stars."

In a bright flash of light and a loud pop, the two disappeared completely, leaving behind the only world they had ever known far behind. Hopefully one day they would return, but for now they traveled through time and space to find a home, a place where they could live in peace.

But Murphy's Law would follow them to the ends of the universe. So it was really with no surprise when they landed upon a barren desert planet, sand in every direction, three suns, and monsters in the black.


	2. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and ideas….and the plot bunnies in the corner. Please don't sue, I'm a poor college student that has no life and way too many video games.***

"_When somebody tells you nothing is impossible, ask him to dribble a football."_

**Chapter One**

The light that had surrounded them dissipated, leaving them in darkness so thick not even their enhanced eyes could pierce it. Strange echoing noises rang loudly from about them, but they were farther off, causing them little concern. Draco and Harry held tightly onto each other, exhaustion leaking out of every muscle…even breathing felt difficult. They stayed like that for several minutes before light finally started to rise over the land.

Draco looked out over to where the light was coming from, assuming the sun was rising, but instead what he saw made him gasp in disbelief. The sun wasn't rising from the horizon, instead a giant ringed planet was moving out of the sun's way. "An eclipse," he commented to himself quietly, fascinated beyond belief by what he saw, and then another light came from the opposite direction, blue but just as bright, it shown behind another planet, smaller then the ringed one.

"An alignment," his Alpha corrected him, his voice full of exhaustion and despair. Draco turned his attention to Harry as the noises from the strange creatures died around them. He pulled the younger man further into his embrace, before they broke apart and took in their surroundings.

"You know, little brother," sarcasm was already leaking into his voice and Harry was positive he wasn't going to like what came out of his mouth next. "When you said that we needed to leave and were going to the stars, somehow a desert planet with more sand then I have ever seen, two….wait….no, three suns, just didn't come to mind."

Harry glared at his _brother_ before he took a deep breath and then let it out in a half whine and half sigh as he realized that Draco was right. '_Where in Merlin are we?'_ He sighed again and started walking, his Omega mocking him as he went. It only took ten minutes before the wolf in him protested and he snarled at the blonde, effectively shutting him up.

The blue sun had fully set a while ago and the twin suns, one orange and yellow, the other smaller one a bright red, were high in the sky when Harry got the scent of water, blood, and death. Correcting his trajectory, they started heading in the only direction that held hope for them, because if they didn't find food, water, and shelter soon, they would be very, very screwed…and not in the good way.

They walked for several more hours, stopping occasionally to sniff the exotic scents dancing upon the strange surface or to enjoy the occasional gentle breeze that blew past. Draco was walking to the right and just slightly behind his Alpha, as was fitting his position, but he was exhausted, both his wolf and himself, and pretty soon he started to lag behind. Harry slowed down several times for the blonde, and it left Draco wondering how he did it.

He knew that the other wizard was just as tired if not more then himself since his position in the war was far more prominent then his own, so he had done a lot more fighting, and add into the fact the magical drain it had been on the both of them to transport them across the stars left him completely bushed. But there he was before him, pushing his exhaustion down and marching on as if he wasn't just as beat tired as himself.

A whine came unbidden out of his throat and his Alpha looked upon him before he slowed down some more. "We are almost there, brother."

He was right, as he usually was, and just as another hour died, they came upon a settlement of sorts. It looked just large enough to hold a small community, maybe a total of thirty people, definitely not any more then that. Draco zeroed in on the large container holding water and immediately turned the nozzle, shoving his head under to soak it, and then turning so he could catch the water in his mouth.

Even though it was a disrespect of the pack order, completely unintentionally though it was, and Harry should have had first dibs, he let his brother enjoy this small luxury. He waited patiently until the other was finished, and only when Draco moved back, did Harry take his own fill. His dragon looked completely unapologetic, but Harry let it slide…for the moment.

Once both of them were re-hydrated they moved off to explore the rest of the tiny colony. They entered building after building, room after room, found many clothes, pictures, canned food, and water bottles, but they didn't find any living soul. Not one. It seemed as if they had all disappeared into thin air. It was only after they magicked themselves into the coring room did they discover what had happened.

Moving to the coring shaft where the smell of death was most prominent Draco sent down a ball of light, illuminating the bones of men, women, and children. Their bodies had been picked clean of all meat, and they could see deep gouges and bite marks, even from all the way above the surface.

"What the bloody hell did _that_?"

Draco's voice rang loudly about the coring room, bouncing off of the metal walls and echoing down the hole. The same weird hollow sound floated back up to them, and they could see something moving down there within the darkness. "I don't know," Harry replied, his eyes not moving from the shaft and the once people that lay within it. "But what ever it is, let's just leave it alone, yeah?"

They backed up out of the building slowly, and then re-chained it from the outside this time. They stood outside in the blazing heat, Draco's pale skin surprisingly not burning because of his lycanthropy, but also not tanning, and getting more confused, tired, and pissed as each second ticked by, turned to his Alpha expecting answers. "What the fuck is going on?"

Harry shook his head slowly, he had no idea either. Running a hand through his short hair, the feathers staying in place through a charm, he sighed deeply before his glowing green eyes locked onto grey ones. "I don't know, but it is safe to assume that there are no survivors, making us the only living things above the surface. So let's take stock of what we have, maybe take advantage of the clothes and showers before making a plan."

Draco nodded in confirmation before he walked away, towards one of the buildings he knew held clothing his size and some canned food. He was also positive that it had a shower. He could really use a shower, if his nose was anything to go by. His wolf shifted in agitation, it didn't like the things just below the sand, and liked their situation even less. Draco had to agree with it.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

The blonde found Harry several hours later, tending to the hanging garden, repairing the tarp covering, and watering the plants…with magic of course. Draco had already taken it upon himself to move all of their food into the cafeteria and to change his pants and shoes to something sturdier. He left his shirt off though…it was just to fucking hot.

Harry turned to him; a forced smile graced his face as he stepped away from the now flourishing garden. Draco walked up to him and pulled the smaller male into his arms tightly in comfort. He felt wetness on his chest as arms encircled him and knew that the other was crying.

Harry was his Alpha, but not _the_ Alpha. He was thrust into the lead of their relationship because he was physically stronger then Draco, if just barely. The green eyed wizard fell more naturally into a following position, below an Alpha but above a Beta, and it left both of their wolves confused. Harry needed somebody to dominate him but still remain in the position as top dog. Remus theorized it was because he needed an Alpha as a mate, and since they didn't have one, Harry became their Alpha.

He was always trying to be what others needed from him. He was their savior, their Golden Boy, the Chosen One. He became their scapegoat when they refused to believe and then he became the one to blame when they did. He would forever be what others needed him to be, but just once, Draco wished he could be just Harry.

Though physically stronger of the two, due to the abuse he suffered through most of his life, and fighting a war he didn't understand, he was emotionally weaker. And Draco knew that in a situation such as theirs that a breakdown was eminent, they did just walk off of a battlefield and onto a dead planet after all.

They stood like that for several hours, until the twin suns set and the blue giant rose. Only when the need for food became too much did they break apart with a gentle kiss of reassurance to nourish themselves. Once they had finished eating the canned 'somethings' in the mess hall they made their way to one of the larger houses and lied down to take a much needed nap.

There were a total of thirteen houses, but neither Harry nor Draco felt the need to hold any allusion as to where they were to sleep. Both were physically and emotionally exhausted and knew that they wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully without the other. They tried for the first month of the changing, but their wolves would have none of it. And now that their friends and family were dead, now that they were on a different planet alone except for the monsters, they decided to no longer fight it. Nobody was there to tell them otherwise.

Draco helped his Alpha over to the queen size bed, and after he had removed both of their shoes, the blonde climbed under the sheets that held a thin layer of dust from several months of disuse, and pulled Harry down next to him. After making sure both of them were sufficiently covered, he stayed awake until the other lycan had fallen asleep, his head pillowed on Draco's chest, arm thrown across his stomach, he watched the other sleep. But soon the sandman visited him, closing his eyes gently with dream filled finger tips, and shrouding his mind with shadows of the dead.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

It took them several years of fixing, building, and rebuilding before they accepted the fact that they were to be here for a long, long while. They couldn't transport like they had before, it had taken a lot of both of their magic, and to do so again would kill one if not both of them. So they were stuck until they could find a more…muggle…way off of the planet.

They had found what looked like a space ship, but it had no power left and they didn't hold the knowledge of that type of technology in order to fix it, after all magic and electronics _never_ mixed well. Through their combined efforts they were able to make a pool and then conjure water for it, and though the water was warmer then what Draco would have preferred, it wasn't worth the effort to repeatedly charm it to make it colder.

They had also gone through each building, with the exception of the coring room, and cleaned them to the point of perfection. After all they had nothing better to do. Harry expanded their garden until it took up four times the space then it had originally, and the majority of the plants weren't hanging. Draco was confused on how the other male had magicked the ground to grow vegetation, but the explanation left him even more confused.

Draco himself had his own set of projects. He got the ATV like vehicle running again, through sheer dumb luck, and was able to conjure some cattle…well cattle like creatures. They were bigger then the cows he was used to, both male and female had horns, and throw in the fact that they were blue and purple, you get one radio active cow. Their milk was relatively the same though, and they slaughtered one every few months for meat. The wolf in them wouldn't let them be vegetarians for long. But they reproduced fast enough to not make a dent in their number. He also learned that they were temperamental, extremely temperamental.

Another thing that they had discovered is that since the planet had no night and no moon it made the wolf easier to control if a little more agitated. They were both now able to transform at will with no side effects of aggression and the sudden urge to mate like crazy. The first time they had transformed under a full moon back on Earth was an interesting and embarrassing experience. They had awoken naked in the forbidden forest, wrapped around each other, covered in the blood of the deer that lay several feet away and smelling of sex. It didn't take them long to figure out what had happened after that, and Draco had the unpleasant realization, as he sat up, that his wolf had bottomed. Malfoy's bottomed for _nobody_.

They had avoided each other like the plague for almost an entire month. It wasn't until two weeks before the second full moon, and many sleepless nights that Draco and Harry had called a truce of sorts. After that their relationship had flourished and they grew to be brothers in all but blood. Nobody understood the new development between the two, and though Harry's friends had tried to understand and accept it, they just couldn't.

They still loved Harry dearly, but they needed space away from him to come to terms with the new situation. They never got the chance to come to terms with it, because just three days after the full moon, Voldemort laid a siege upon Hogwarts and the grand castle fell, taking his friends with it.

Draco pulled himself away from the morbid memories and turned his head to the giant black wolf that had just run past him. He laughed at his brother's antics, but didn't join him. He had cattle to calm down and then milk. It would take them some time to become used to such a large predator as being their masters.

Another project of Draco's was building a barn for the animals so they wouldn't wonder off, but with not a lot of extra supplies, and the amount of magic that would be required to summon it, he had instead decided to expand the hanger the ship was in and create some stalls. He figured after he was finished with that he could fortify the outside walls and ceiling, along with the door, and maybe make a second story to hold the food for the cattle.

The young man, now around twenty-five, but still looking no older then the day they had arrived, looked up to the sky cast in blue and wished dearly for nightfall. It would be both a blessing and a curse. About a week after their arrival, Harry had stumbled upon a small model of the solar system. It showed a grand eclipse that lasted about four months, give or take a few weeks, and exactly sixty-two years between each eclipse. So they currently had about fifty plus years before darkness would cover the land.

Draco had realized soon after that the monsters that lived under the surface were top side when they had arrived, but they hadn't been seen since, so they must either be nocturnal or had a phobia to light. Either way if it kept the carnivores away then good for them. He hoped dearly that they would be off the planet by the next eclipse, but they were already taking precautions if they weren't.

Knowing their luck though, he doubted they would get off the planet in time to avoid the only other living species on it. It was going to be a very, very long wait.


	3. Chapter 2

***Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and ideas….and the plot bunnies in the corner. Please don't sue, I'm a poor college student that has no life and way too many video games.***

"_If you can't fix it with duck tape, then you obviously haven't used enough."_

**Chapter Two**

_ They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side…the animal side. No wonder I'm still awake._

_ Transporting me with civilians. Sounded like forty, forty plus. Heard an Arab voice, some hoodoo holy man. Probably on his way to New Mecca. But what route? What route?_

_ Smelled a woman. Sweat, boots, tool belt, leather. Prospector type, free settlers. And they only take the back routes._

_And there's my real problem: Mr. Johns, blue eyed devil. Planning on taking me back to Slam…only this time he picked a ghost lane. _

_A long time between stops…A long time for something to go wrong._

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

Draco heard the ship before he saw it. It made a great big booming sound as it slammed onto the unforgiving desert floor, leaving a giant smoldering scar in its wake. Shifting into his wolf form with ease, he went to go investigate. The huge white wolf, fur adorned with feathers and beads, several bracelets on his forelegs, and a large intricate black tattoo on his upper right foreleg, crested dune after dune, eating up the four kilometers to the crash site in just under twenty minutes.

Cresting the last hill, he moved towards the spires to hide in their shadows as he got his first glimpse of a human in over six decades. The shock of actually seeing another living human being after so long completely immobilized him. Harry was still back at the Colony, as they have dubbed it, or Little Britain from some sort of TV show, as his Alpha has taken to calling it.

He couldn't believe his eyes. The ship that had crashed was huge and could easily hold sixty to seventy people. A long black scar lay behind the ship; it stank of fire and death, and was littered with the bodies of those who were unlucky enough to be towards the back. With a ship that size he expected to see a good amount of survivors, twenty-five at least, but that was not the case.

Before him stood ten people, most of them upon the ship, looking back at the wreckage caused by their not-quite-landing. The wolf could smell three children, one of which was a girl, and an adolescent male who was on the cusp of adulthood. The rest were adults. One, who held a position of leadership, not _the_ position mind you, but one of them, smelled of gunpowder, death, and addiction. It left his nose twitching. The role of leadership was currently held by a female, she reeked of nothing but guilt.

Another adult female stood by her, smelling of the earth, leather, and sweat, as did her mated. He saw two more men standing upon the ground, one with dark skin smelling of smoke, compassion, and kindness, while the other paler one just stank of fear and cowardliness.

That one wouldn't survive for long, the wolf knew, because on this planet it was survival of the fittest. It tormented, abused, and mocked them before it finally ate them. Another scent was carried on the wind and the wolf raised his giant muzzle to take a long sniff. It smelled of cinnamon, seduction, blood, and rage. The wolf growled in approval, shifting on his hind legs to stand, but couldn't get a sight of the man who held such a tantalizing aroma. He was probably still inside.

His pierced ears flickered back the way he had come from. A howl echoed through the canyon, carried upon the wind, and called to him. The others wouldn't be able to hear it, since their hearing was so weak, but he could hear it clear as day. His Alpha demanded his presence back at the Colony.

Dropping once again to all fours, he turned his back upon his discovery. The white wolf made his way quickly back home; after all it wouldn't due to keep his Alpha waiting.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

Riddick crouched on the floor, removing the last of his restraints when he heard it. This trip had ended quite abruptly after the meteor shower, and now he was stranded on a not so dead planet with civilians who had no idea about the first thing of survival. After his breakout, he had attempted to add one more person to the growing list of the dead, but Johns just wouldn't fucking die. So instead of being able to blend in with the group by taking the merc's identity, he was now outcasted as a dangerous criminal hell bent on killing everyone.

The 'Captain' had thought they had crashed on a barren planet, devoid of life, but Riddick knew better. He could hear something, whispers just underneath the surface, singing about their hunger. Something dangerous and deadly was down there, and the convict really wanted to go take a look.

He, like the others had thought that the surface was barren as well, if the glimpse of the outside was anything to go by, but then he heard the howl as his last cuff broke apart. Immediately freezing in place as the sound surrounded him, he smirked deviously when he realized that the others wouldn't be able to hear it. It sounded like it came from some sort of large canine like beast, and held an edge of danger, desperation, and insanity to it.

Stepping out into the sun light, away from the rest of the group, Riddick was able to spot something large and white retreating quickly, before it disappeared behind a dune. How badly he wanted to go and investigate, so Riddick did something he hadn't done in a while. He gave into his curiosity. Dropping the cuffs towards sunset, he doubled back and made his way towards sunrise, where the thing had ran off too.

He knew one thing for certain: this was going to be an interesting adventure.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

"Did you see it?"

Draco hadn't even given Harry enough time to tell him why he was summoned. One minute he was with Harry butchering the cow that was weak from age and the next he was gone. The Alpha had decided to indulge his subordinate and went back to work on his own, but when a half an hour passed and with no sign of Draco he began to get worried. His Omega should not have run off like that, not without informing him, but he did and now he was left alone with the cattle that were not so good at conversation. A little peeved, the lycan howled at his pack member, demanding he return NOW! He was forced to wait another ten minutes before he saw the white werewolf bounding toward him, head up and tail waging, tongue out and panting as if he had just run a marathon. It made the Alpha even more angry to see such disrespect, his wolf tore to the surface, not transforming him since they were one and the same now that they have been together for so long, over sixty years, but his eyes bled to a glowing emerald green flaked with gold and his teeth and nails elongated.

Before he could even open his mouth to reprimand the male, and maybe take a good bite out of him, his dragon had transformed back into his human counterpart seamlessly and practically shouted at him. But he wouldn't let that deter him from rimming Draco a new asshole.

"Where the fuck were you?" The black lycan growled at him. "You left with no notice, disappear for the better part of an hour, and don't even reply to my call?"  
Draco had the decency to look chastised, a quite whimpering whine rising from his throat, before all of that vanished and the look of excitement came back. He looked like a child who upon entering a toy store for the first time was told he could have _everything_ he wanted.

"I'm sorry…but did you see _it_?"

He didn't look very sorry, Harry thought, but he figured if he was going to get answers, he would have to humor the blonde. "See what? You look like a kid who was told Christmas came early. You know Santa isn't real, right?"

He was being mocked again, but at the moment Draco couldn't bring himself to care. "So I take it you didn't see it," a devious smile spread across his pale face.

Harry sighed, his eyes bleeding back to his regular green, "See what, Draco?"

Another smile, more like a smirk really, danced across his Omega's tantalizing lips. "Why my dear Alpha, Santa Clause, he landed just past the ravine," Harry threw him a skeptical look, wondering if the other had finally cracked. Isolation can do that to a person, Hermione told him that once. But being on this planet for over sixty years, Harry thought he was a little cracked too.

Seeing his Alpha loose interest in the conversation and starting to turn away, Draco quickly caught his arm, and before he could be reprimanded, he pointed excitedly back the way he came, shouting for him to look. So Harry looked, and his eyes widened at what they saw. In the distance he could see smoke rising, and wondered how it was that he had missed it in the first place.

"What is it?"

Draco grinned mischievously now that he had the other's undivided attention. "That, my dear little brother, is a ship. It just crashed about a half and hour ago, and…" he paused for dramatic effect, waiting for his Alpha to look away from the rising smoke to him. "There are survivors."

"Survivors?"

There was disbelief in his voice. Draco nodded his head enthusiastically, emphasizing how serious this was. If there were survivors, then maybe they could fix the small emergency craft that was just collecting dust in the hanger. And if they could fix it, then they would be off this rock for good.

Tears came to Harry's eyes; it was almost too good to be true. His dragon pulled him into a tight embrace, his naked torso hot against Harry's skin. Wrapping his arms around his brother, friend, lover, he buried his face into Draco's neck and let himself cry. Finally… finally they would be free.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

Riddick was pissed. He had followed the tracks of the white creature the best he could, and yet here he was, in a graveyard of some sort, filled with the bones of gigantic things, and no beast in sight. He had lost his tracks about a good fifteen minutes ago and had yet to pick them up again. He didn't like to boast much, but Riddick liked to think of himself as a skilled tracker, it had been a while since his prey had pulled a slip on him. And yet it did, and it left him feeling both respect and anger towards that thing.

The tracks had obviously belonged to something huge, bigger then even him. The sand had made it hard for him to get a good impression, but he made due. It was a paw of some sort, but the toes were too long and spaced apart farther then he had seen on any other creature. Right before the paw ended, deep gauge marks were left behind, most likely some sort of claws. He put his hand down upon the sand, where the last impression was and noticed that his palm was just over half the size of the creatures. It was definitely big, whatever it was.

Sighing deeply, he set about making a shiv for himself just incase he did run across the creature and it turns out he was the one being hunted. It would also be of good use if he saw Johns anytime soon. That last thoughts left the convict in better spirits then he was moments before so he found himself a shaded niche and started carving a knife out of bone.

He wasn't at it for long when he heard the other survivors approaching. Quickly finishing his knew shiv, he tucked it into his shoe before he moved into a more strategic position. He would wait until they moved on and then he would make his way back to the crash site. They might have food and better yet water that he could steal. Right now though, it was just a waiting game, and he was the best.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

"What do we do?"

It was a good question, and one that took Harry nearly ten minutes to answer. He could send Draco out to meet them, but that might not turn out so well. From what the other had told him, they were a jumpy group and had guns, combining those two things together always spelled disaster. Or they could wait until the others found them, but then they would have to take the chance of the survivors not finding them at all, it was a big planet after all. They were between a rock and a hard place.

"Go back to the site…not in your wolf form, the last thing we need is for them to shoot you. Lead them here, if they wish," Harry grabbed his Omega's arm as the blonde was turning away. He waited until stormy grey eyes met his and said, "Please, Draconis, be careful. I don't think I could stand to loose you."

Draco saw the turmoil in the other's eyes, and pulled him into another quick embrace before promising that he would be alright. It took a lot more then a bullet to kill a werewolf after all. Harry stood at the edge of their home and watched as his brother practically threw himself upon the four-wheeler and drive off into the direction of the crash until he was completely out of sight. "Please Merlin, keep him safe."


	4. Chapter 3

***Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and ideas….and the plot bunnies in the corner. Please don't sue, I'm a poor college student that has no life and way too many video games.***

"_Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life."_

**The Beasts Below**

Fear crept into her throat and settling in her heart as brown eyes gazed at the hole with trepidation. Shaking hands tightened the roped around her stomach once again as she took halting steps on the bloodied sand. Carolyn Fry was truly and completely terrified for the first time in her life.

Her eyes darted around the group as she tried to find a reason behind this action, and then she did. Shazza, the bushwhacking prospector, stood alongside the young boy Jack as tears still poured from her eyes. She would occasionally swipe them away, but that only succeeded in smearing the dirt around her face and soon more tears would fall.

She had to find Zeke, or at least his body, if not for her own sense of mind than at least for Shazza's. Taking another deep breath, Carolyn turned back to the hole and crouched down. She tried to brace herself on the sand without touching the blood, but it was everywhere and there was no way to avoid it. Shuffling forward slowly, she crawled upon the blood soaked sand, and within seconds she was enveloped in darkness.

A yard in she found a flashlight, but after several seconds examining it, she concluded that it was broken, but she tucked it into her waist band just in case. Who knew what they would need to survive out here. Another few yards in and the tunnel opened up into an underground cavern. Standing slowly, she circled around and gazed in wonder at the ceiling as the columns funneled light in from the surface.

"There hollow," she whispered to herself, moving steadily closer to the light. A sound similar to fabric rustling and small pebbles bouncing had her whirling around, gazing into the darkness. The fear overcame her wonder as she saw something just beyond the shadow. It was too dark to make out, but something was definitely out there.

She turned quickly again as more noises bounced off of the cavern's walls. And then she saw it, a boot, just barely in the light. Carolyn ran towards it, stumbling to her knees she grabbed the boot and braced herself to pull Zeke into the light, but she overestimated greatly how much power she would need and fell backwards, the boot and severed foot landing next to her.

Horror filled eyes took in the limb as she crabbed walked backwards, further into the light to get away from it. She didn't scream, of that she could find pride, but she did loose what little booze had settled in her stomach. Tears tracked down her face, leaving a trail as it picked up the dirt. Sniffling and wiping away the liquid she stood on unsteady feet.

She started to make her way back towards the hole but her eyes turned once again to the boot. Shazza would need to know, and she would want proof. Carolyn made several halting steps back towards the limb before she squared her shoulders and found her courage. Marching over to the boot she reached down to grab it just as a grey clawed limb shot out and pulled the severed foot back into the darkness.

Shouting in fright, Carolyn rushed to the exit, only to find it covered by _things_. She stumbled back into the light, beneath the column and tried to remember whose bright idea it was to come down here…oh yeah, it was Riddick's.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

The wind rushed past, tugging futilely at the charmed feathers Draco had in his hair as he slowed the SandCat. The wreckage was within sight now, smoke still billowing in dark gaseous clouds of poison. The werewolf thought it best to come at the survivors in an angle where they could see him long before he reached them, and in doing so at a leisurely pace insured that he was non aggressive. At least that was what he hoped they took from his actions, but he couldn't be sure as it had been just over a half a century since he had seen someone other than his brother.

So Draco rolled into the crash site at a boring six miles per hour and lo and behold, nobody greeted him. Scoffing in annoyance for making him wait, the once Malfoy took a deep breath to find the humans. One was inside, the dangerous one that invoked all kinds of curiosity from him, but the majority of the group was by the spires.

Disembarking from the SandCat, Draco started to make his way over to the largest group, thinking that that would be the best course of action, when a scream interrupted his thoughts. He froze momentarily, listening further and only hearing panicked shouting before he took off. It seemed that somebody was in need of saving, and seeing as his brother wasn't here, Draco supposed that meant he had to be the one doing the saving.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

Carolyn was pulled from the spire by strong male hands before she was set down a good dozen feet from the thing.

"I heard you first, Fry!"

"Are you alright, child?"

"Did you find Zeke?"

"What the hell is down there?"

They were all talking too fast, and the pilot of the Hunter-Gratzner could barely make out the occasional word from the blood rushing past her ears. Panting heavily, hands on knees, legs barely supporting her, Carolyn was able to gasp out what she saw.

"Stupid, so fucking stupid," Carolyn was talking about herself. "I don't know what the _fuck_ is down there," waving a hand vaguely in the direction of the spire, "but whatever it was got Zeke and nearly got m-"

A hard yank on the rope cut her sentence of effectively as she was dragged kicking and screaming back to the spire. She slammed into the hard dirt before she started to be pulled _in_. "Get it off of me!"

She was shouting, yelling, screaming, and hands were grabbing her, trying to pull her away. But whatever was down there was too strong because the next thing she knew she was mostly in the hole, hands grabbing at the crumbling dirt as the others held onto her feet. Another hard yank and she slipped further into the hole.

Then suddenly a hand reached in and grabbed her arm in a painfully tight grip, pulling her out of the spire and clear of the hole. Seconds later the rope was cut, and Carolyn would have fallen to the ground if it hadn't been for the one still holding her arm. Taking heaving gasps, she turned to her rescuer, ready to thank whoever it was that saved her from death, but then she realized something…she didn't recognize him.

0o0~0o0~Page~Break~0o0~0o0

Johns wasn't quite sure what had happened. One second the rather hot pilot was explaining in her colorful way what was in the hole and the next she was _flying_ backwards. His morphine addicted self froze only for a moment before he took off after her, Imam and the others not far behind.

Johns grabbed at Fry, getting her shirt with one hand and her arm with the other he pulled her back as hard as he could, but whatever had a hold of the other end of the rope was too strong. Imam, Shazza, and one of the older Chrislam kids grabbed what they could and tried to yank her back from the darkness and the thing that had her, but she kept getting further and further into the hole, and before he knew it, the bounty hunter and the priest were part way into the hole as well.

Sweat slicked skin made his grip falter and he could feel her slipping. Carolyn was still screaming, nails digging into the crumbling dirt as she was pulled that much further, and then suddenly his grip failed and he fell backwards.

Staring in disbelief, Johns was convinced he was about to see another survivor meet a terrible end when suddenly there was another person. A pale young man, just out of boyhood, reached one arm into the hole and singlehandedly yanked the terrified pilot to safety. The merc was frozen in shock, but luckily the Imam was not, and reached around with his ceremonial knife and cut the rope.

Johns watched with detached interest as the line was pulled into the hole and disappeared into the black. Whooping noises of the likes he never heard before started up before ending suddenly. Whatever was down there was clearly disappointed in its missed meal.

Carolyn was hanging loosely from grip of the stranger, before he let her go and she collapsed into the sand. Trembling from the experience, she tried to stand but her legs seemed too weak. Shazza seemed to be torn from grief and curiosity as she crouched down to help the acting Captain to her feet. He saw Fry rubbing her arm where the other had grabbed her and he saw a dark bruise already forming. Imam stood a few feet off, the ceremonial dagger forgotten in his hand.

Standing slowly, Johns picked up his dropped shotgun and though he didn't point it at the stranger it was clearly meant as warning. The merc took in the other's appearance. He was young, just in his early years of adulthood. Skin was almost unnaturally pale, chest bare except for a strange necklace. A tattoo adorned one bicep in a design unknown to him. His hair was short and spikey, as if it was styled to be messy. Feathers and beads adorned the white hair, and Johns found his eyes being drawn to the earrings. There were several studs and hoops, but what drew his attention were the strange bird skulls he had on either side.

It was because of the strange decorations that Johns _almost_ missed the other things, the not human things. His ears were pointed, slightly curving upwards at the end. His face was angular, eyes an electric blue that actually glowed. His nails were sharp, but not overly long, they were also black. And his eye teeth were elongated, the teeth next to them also pointed unnaturally so.

Staring at the one before them, the stranger who had saved another one of their people from dying, what they should have said was thank you. And that should have been followed by pleasantries such as names and etc. This did not actually happen, of course. What followed was Johns stepping forward, gun still in hand, asking, "_What_ the fuck are you?"


End file.
